[Gregster]

I never bounced, but my instructor did for years. He trained TKD, Hapkido, Aikido, and boxing.

Ignore the nut-huggers who say that anything that's not BJJ or Muay Thai is worthless. Muay Thai has limited applications in the confines of a crowded bar and would probably only be of use if the fight spilled into the parking lot, where many of them do. BJJ is great mano-a-mano, but all of my experience and observation has shown me that contrary to what ardent disciples of BJJ will tell you (note: I train BJJ, and think it is an invaluable component to a well-rounded repetoire) the *LAST* thing you wanna do in a bar brawl is go to the ground. If you wind up on the ground, it's damned good to know, but for most bouncing encounters, you want to stay on your feet. Belligerent assholes travel in packs, and I've seen plenty of fights between two people flare up into giant melees involving people who had nothing to do with the fight because they were drunk and got pumped full of adrenaline.

I think the ideal regimen for a bouncer would be:

1) Anything that teaches simple, no-nonsense standup striking that can be don ein close quarters.

2) Something that teaches standing submission so you can control a violent drunk and get him out of the bar; Priority #1 in any bar altercation is to get whatever is going on outside. If it stays in the bar, the likelihood that it will turn into a nightmare increases dramatically.

3) Something that gives you options if you *must* go to the ground.